Henan Daily client reporter Yang Zhitian Zhao Ana
The ancient capital of Anyang was the imperial capital three thousand years ago. It was once the capital of the Yin Shang Dynasty, and was the political, economic and cultural center of Our country 3300 years ago; it is the hometown of China's earliest systematic writing - oracle bones; here is the excavation site of Simu Pengding, the crown of bronzes unearthed in the world; here you can appreciate the highly developed ancient civilization of our country.
On November 4, the reporter went to the Anyang Museum in the eastern district of Anyang City. It is a comprehensive museum of local history with a collection of more than 10,000 precious historical artifacts from the old times to the modern era.
"Ancient animal fossils are not only cultural relics, but also a work of art, but also an ancient text that records life..." In the exhibition hall of "Anyang Good - According to Yang Historical Relics Exhibition", with the vivid narration of the museum docent Zhang Anran, the reporter seems to have entered the time and space tunnel to ancient times.
"In fact, the history of Anyang can be traced back even earlier. In 2009, archaeologists found a large number of animal fossils dating back about 100,000 years at the bottom of the Gudao River in Huaxian County. Zhang Anran introduced that this is the first time that an earlier animal fossil and paleohuman cultural remains have been found in the yellow river accumulation in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, which is of great significance for the study of early human activities in the late Pleistocene and the paleoenvironment during the formation of the Yellow River.
"Wow, this is a pig!" In the display case was a complete pig skull, with a pouted arch, two large fan ears and a pair of small eyes.
Pig fossils first appeared in Europe 40 million years ago in the Eocene. The skeleton of the pig skull on display here is relatively young, only about 120,000 years old. What is special is that archaeologists have excavated it in the dirt of Huaxian County and identified it at a glance as a cute pig baby skull.
In the nearby display case, there is a very small fossil specimen of a beaver.
"This small beaver protoskelet is perfectly preserved, with fine ribs and sharp black claws. Thanks to the staff in the restoration room, they used small embroidery needles and small brushes to separate them little by little from the hard blocks of soil. Zhang Anran said that it takes 4 to 6 months to repair such a fossil specimen, which is the hard work of the staff to make each fossil specimen a particularly exquisite work of art.
Zhou Wei, director of the Anyang Museum, introduced that the animal fossil species unearthed include nearly 20 species of primitive cattle, woolly rhinoceros, Przewalski's antelope, red deer, wild horses, beavers and mollusk clams, all of which are Late Pleistocene species. "The thick gravel layer and pure sand show that the Amount of Water in the Yellow River was abundant at that time, and it was once clear to the bottom." He said: "The formation of the main stream of the Yellow River and the emergence of a large number of ancient humans in various places are almost at the same time, and a large number of ancient human cultural remains in this period provide strong evidence that modern Chinese people originated in the mainland." ”
The fossils are well preserved, with some of the cervical vertebrae still adhering together when they were unearthed. Some antlers are connected to the skull, which is suitable for man-made hunting characteristics. "The bones are deeply petrified, not weathered before burial, and the hydraulic grinding is slight, and it is estimated that the distance carried by water will not be too far." It is particularly important that there are artificial cut marks and cutting marks near the joint surfaces of some limbs and bones, which directly reflect the relevant information of animal products hunted and consumed by ancient humans. ”
He believes that the discovery of this remain shows that the distribution space of ancient humans in the late ice period has expanded rapidly, and its range of activities has expanded from the known foothill hills, pre-mountain ganglands, and loess plateau areas to the vast plain hinterland. This is the earliest and most important ancient human cultural relic of the Yellow River activity area east of the Taihang Mountains.
"An ancient fossil can always arouse your desire to explore nature and science, allow you to touch the grander and distant world of knowledge outside the textbook, and even launch a 'challenge' to scientific authorities." Zhou Wei said that the value of fossils lies in this.
The Yellow River is the cradle of the Chinese nation, and for thousands of years, it has been surging with passion and running endlessly, nurturing the Chinese nation and giving birth to a splendid Chinese civilization. Thousands of years later, the animals that once lived here have not been silent, they have recorded the history of life and the changes of mountains and rivers in the form of fossils - the museum is an open university.
"It was shocking! I didn't expect to come to Anyang to see oracle bones, and I could also see such ancient animal fossils, which was really a feast for my eyes. Mr. Hu, who came to Anyang from Wuhan to travel by car, is a complete "museum fan", and this time he came to Henan and made a special trip to Anyang Museum and Yin Xu Museum to punch in.
Today, the giant beasts and ancestors have entered the depths of history, but at the Anyang Museum, the audience can also explore the history of the Yin Shang period. The unique Yin Shang display in the exhibition hall on the second floor allows the audience to carefully examine and linger. In recent years, in order to allow more audiences to understand the thick history of Anyang, Anyang Museum has made a lot of efforts: for example, we use the collection of exhibits as a medium to carry out cultural exchanges between museums in the form of exchange exhibitions, and have successively held traveling exhibitions such as "Anyang Area Woodblock New Year Painting Exhibition" at the Zhengyangmen Management Office in Beijing, the Taiyuan Folk Customs Museum in Shanxi, and the Museums in Tongling, Fuyang, Huangshan in Anhui, Chuxiong and Lijiang in Yunnan, to introduce the folk customs of our northern Henan region to friends from other places. At the same time, they also show the customs and customs of different regions to our Audience in Anyang through the introduction of exhibitions; for example, customized research courses for local primary and secondary school students, through field visits and learning in museums, to stimulate young people's interest in exploring the mysteries of nature; during the epidemic this year, they opened a real-life virtual roaming system, from the mobile phone WeChat into the system, gently slide their fingertips, you can "roam" in the museum, enjoy the "Shang Dynasty Character Exhibition", "Anyang Oracle Bone Calligraphy Invitation Exhibition", "Anyang Chongbao Yao Chinese Cultural Relics Special Exhibition" and other exhibitions.
Shang "Father Yi Che Qu" bronze Yao, excavated in the 1950s at the site of Yin Ruins, the inner side of the circle foot has the inscription "Father Yi Che Qu" four characters, now in the Anyang Museum.
Blue glaze carved flower cup and plate: This cup and plate utensils are deep and full, exquisitely made, gorgeously decorated, uniform glaze layer, glaze color lustrous, is the Sui Dynasty Anyang kiln (Xiangzhou kiln) outstanding works, reflecting the high level of China's Sui Dynasty porcelain industry, as well as the wisdom and creative ability of the working people, is the study of China's Sui Dynasty northern celadon and Anyang kiln porcelain important physical materials, was designated as a first-class cultural relics.
Anyang kiln took the lead in using tire protection glaze, which opened a precedent for the use of decorative layers (makeup soil) in China's porcelain, and the use of white tire protection glaze is of epoch-making significance in the history of porcelain making in China.
Tang Paste Silver Shell Treasure Flower Bronze Mirror: This exhibit is a cultural relic of the Tang Dynasty. The mirror body is prismatic, round button, the back of the mirror is attached to the silver shell, the silver shell is decorated with a raised treasure phase flower pattern, the pattern is centered on the button, the stems and leaves are connected, and they are open and covered with the mirror back.
About Anyang Museum:
As the capital of the Shang Dynasty and one of the eight ancient capitals of China, Anyang has written a lot of Chinese history, and the Anyang Museum is naturally a place not to be missed. Anyang Museum is the earliest intangible cultural museum built in Anyang, the museum collects many cultural relics about the history of Anyang and tens of thousands of collections from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, such as oracle bones, bronzes, jade, etc., the famous Shang Dynasty light yellow glaze original porcelain jars, Shang Dynasty Gluttony Wending and Song Dynasty Cizhou kilns are treasured here. While feeling the strong cultural atmosphere here, you can also learn a lot of historical knowledge and increase your knowledge.
Anyang Museum Official Website: http://www.aybwg.org/
Punch Card Tips:
Duration of the tour: 1-3 hours
Transportation: Take bus No. 11, 16, 36 to the Municipal Library Station
Tickets: For details, please consult the scenic spot 0372-3776808
Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-17:00, last admission at 16:00, closed on Mondays (until further notice on holidays).
Editor: Li Linyu